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SOURCES FOR FREE FILL DIRT
Over the past few years I have gotten calls from uninformed homeowners telling me they wanted me to go haul some "free fill dirt" that they saw advertised around town. You would be amazed at the their audacity and indignance when I tell them that yes, the dirt is free---the hauling at $75 an hour is not. Most just don't get it.
The other thing that is not "free" is loading at $2 a yard--this gets them ticked off too when they show up with their neighbor's borrowed truck.
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SOURCES FOR FREE FILL DIRT
IBROWN:True -->> but isn't it cheeper to pay for the truck and the loading than it is to pay for the truck dirt and loading?
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What is wrong with it? It cost to much to haul.
Why would it cost more to hall than other dirt?
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(I have posted this info before and there will be posts from haulers and dirt dealers saying that I'm full of crap. I know what I have witnessed and I too have been short-loaded as a contractor by haulers who WERE friends.)
That's what I asked and my buddy grins as he answers: At least in our area, it's usually the cheap developers/builders who don't want to pay $2 per yard to get rid of it (they probably paid their brother-in-law to dig the basement). Most haulers are the excavators in my area. They are paid by the respectable developer $2 a yard to move it, and charge another $2 to the end user for the dirt so they net $4 a yard profit (a so-called 30 yard truck may only legally be able haul 22-24 yards max.---I'll get to short-loading later). Since the cheap developer who was "giving" dirt away because he wouldn't pay to get rid of it was trying to save a buck (actually $2), the hauler feels he's being ripped off and needs that other $2. So when a hauler approaches someone who needs, say 6000 yards of backfill in his "30 yard" truck he's hoping to make $24,000 at the high end based on what he tells the homeowner end user "200 truck loads at $4 per yard". But wait there's more...he's really only going to deliver 200 loads at 24 yards max each or 4,800 yards not 6,000. So he's charging $24,000 for actually 4,800 yards for which the builder paid him $9600 and the end user ends up paying $5 not $4 a yard----and still gets shorted 1200 yards. Most times the homeowner winds up ordering and paying for another thousand yards which is actually 800 yards. I've explained this argument to my friends building new homes 'til I'm blue in the face and all they understand is they think they're only paying a dollar more a yard---not so when you're shorted to begin with.
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SOURCES FOR FREE FILL DIRT
SG8: I'm from the Detroit area but working in Mississippi cleaning up Katrina for the past 6 months. I'm curious: What is the average age and condition of the dump trucks in your immediate area?
Back home, they are mostly late '90's and up hence the high cost of product (the DOT pretty much targets any older looking trucks so it's not worth getting ticketed for any used truck with a problem). Here in Miss. on the coast a 10 yard load of sand is $100 and people are complaining. Black sand mined from river beds here also called sandy loam top soil back home goes for $75 for 9 yards. The trucks here are much older and in poor condition (okay, really bad). Out-of-staters are coming in with new $130,000 Macks and finding they can't afford to literally make a few dollars a load. Sand going for $100 costs $40 at the pit. 7 years ago when I was hauling topsoil it cost me $50 for 5 yards (yeah, a real 5 yards) and I would get $130, but I had about a $55,000 investment I had to pay for too. That's 687 loads to pay for the truck equipment--with no profit.
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Good point Harvey about contamination! In the Detroit area there have been numerous times contaminated soil from old gas stations was delivered "free", and another time about 20,000 yards of asbestos-contaminated soil was delivered "free" just down the street from me. The guy that was interviewed on TV about it was the fired truck driver who told his boss stop hauling or he will report it. He stood next to about a half-bushel of asbestos pipe covering on top of a pile. Sometimes there are so many guys involved that it is hard to go after them to recover, because once it's on your lot--it's yours. Right after this happened I got a call from commercail insurance carrier asking me how much and where do I get and deliver my fill dirt. I told them I have others haul it and the customer deals directly with the hauler so I'm not involved. That was good enough for them!
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